Dispensing container



Aug. 14, 1951 G. H. FULLER 2,564,359

DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed Oct. 29, 1945 3/ E i; z i 1 INVENTOR Z7 30- fife/P6: A @115 @i f i 6 5 m I w ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 1 4, 1951 I w PM T o e-arcs Y 25642359 I Y DISPENSING commea George H. Fuller,Greefiwichicoiin. v I I Application October-29, -1945, Serial No. 6 25;27 -1 "This invention relates to 'con'taine'rsfor pastes, creams, ointmentsfand the like, dfthetype' which maybe collap'sed'toforce or eitrudethepasteor eream 'fromthecofitainerantlithas for its general object the provision of a icontainerfor such uses which is 'so "constructed "that itw'ill 'notip'resentthe .unsi'g'htly'appearan'ce or the'usualcollapsible: container when inl'us'e.

'nlthoughattemptshave heretoforebeen made to subs'titute' forthetin' o'rothe'r sof t "metal alloys, usuallyemployedinimaking collapsible tubes for pastes, creamsfointrrfent's and the likejsome other material, such as'the organic plastics, ,no really satisfactory,substitutehas been found. 'Inpp'a'rticul'ar; the iorganicfl plasticsfliolndt alwaysprevent the'lo'ss of'moisture essential "oils orother "constituenrthrough the"t1ibe walls and, "in "many cases, such plastics are deteriorated by ingredien'ts ofthe tube contents.

Moreover; in "such tribes the flexible "plastic merely replaces the metal toll of 'the ordinary tube, being deformed and "collapsed in "the same way to extrude the contents. Many consumers consider "such tubes, whether metal "or plastic to be quite unsatisfactorybecause of thei'ri'u'ns'ightly appearance "when collapsed "and the ,defaceme'nt of labels. Ladiesiprefer :jarsfor cosmetics because they areneat 'andfdecorative on "the vanity table and most men are annoyed by the twisted irregularly squeezed condition o'fcollapsible tubes in thefamily"medicinacabinet,and'still more annoyed "if a tube whose labelis "no longer legible delivers vanishing cream or boric acid ointment ontohis'todth brush The "present invention, tl'l'erefore, aims to provide a fcontainer for "pastes, "creams, ointments, soaps and "other extrudab'le "materials which will have all of the advantages of "the ordinary coll'apsible tube, so fara's its being'impervious to' the contents. thereof and not *subject "to attack by such contents, and so :far as ease of extrusion is concernedfwhile -'-avoiding the unsightly appearance presented by .jthe ordinary zcollapsible tube after the contentshave been "partially extruded.

"More particularly the invention contemplates an elastic covering for an ordinary collapsible metallic container ortube'whichvvillbesufficiently"liexible and sufficiently resilientthat, while it enclosed collapsibletubeto extrude'the paste, or other contents thereof, it"will;'when'released, 'return to asmooth attraetiveform,' fullvdisplayihg the label thereon, while leaving in""its collapsed condition that part of" the? inner tube uponwhich it has'beenp-ressed. I i 7 "An important "feature of the invention is the possibility'of using, in 't-he formation of the coverin'g tube, -one of the "commercial lorg'a'nicelastic plastic such, for. example as plasticize'd compositions of the vinyl polymers and *copolymers, vinylidene polymerslpolyamides,cellulose acetate, or other cellulosicfplasticsjthe variousnatural and synthetic rubber, etc.,' thereby permitting the ready .formation of attractive covering "tubes of any desired Lpermanent coloringor decoration.

Other objects "and important features of the invention; tovvhic'h fference'has not herinaloove specifically been""made, "will f'app'ear hereinafter when the following description and "claims are consideredfinjconnetion with the accompanving drawings. ,In "this "specification "and the accompanying drawings "I have set forth one embodiment "of my invention and-havesuggested various modifications, and alternatives. It should be understood that 'these'are not in'tended to be exhaus'tive or limiting of the invention but on the contraryar'e g'ivenwi'th a view'to enabling others not only to f'practio'e my invention, {but so fully to understand it and the principles thereof that they will be enable d readily to modify and adapt these examples "and to embody the invention in many forms, "each fniay be best adapted to the conditions of a particular use.

Figure 1 is a view partly'in section of -'a collapsible tube enclosed within an ensue plastic tube in acoordancewith the present invention;

F!igure".2 is a'viewshowingthe collapsible tube in its partially collapsed condition while the elastic enclosing tube"sti1l'*mairitains its 'originalsha'p;

Figure ,3 is, a fragmentary view corresponding to the bottom of Figure 2, but showing a modification; I I

'Figure l is "a" view partly iniventical axial section and-partly "in elevation of a'mold-for making the inner tube; v

Figure 5 is "a view similar to Figure-4 vvitha base and sleeve added for molding the elastic tube.

As is well knownjthe ordinary 'collapsible tubes in which to,othpaste;cosmetic creams, ointments, etc.,are "marketed are made of a tin Qrothers'dijt metal "alloy which is readily deformable so that the tubemay becollapsed to extrude its contents, the originaltube '2, usually o'fcircular cross secfiOn, bin'g flattened and clipped. at its end 4,

after filling. Thus a tube which, for example, is one inch in diameter at the full circle and five inches long, will, when flattened, have a width at its flattened end of, say, one and five-eighths inches.

Since such a tube, if smoothly collapsed throughout will have this width substantially throughout its length, it is preferable, to make the elastic covering tube of substantially larger inner diameter than the external diameter of the collapsible inner tube. Advantageously the elastic tube is of diameter equal to the collapsed width of the inner tube.

As shown in the drawings, the inner collapsible tube 2 is identical with standard tubes now in common use. Before filling and closing its clipped end, it has a uniform circular section and its delivery end is made heavier with a neck 6, preferably threaded on its outside in the usual manner and provided with the usual discharge .4 ing the two tubes just described constitutes a simple and satisfactory practical method, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to this procedure nor to the particular way of connecting the two tubes shown and described. For example, the metal tube and the plastic tube can be made on the same mandrel, the metal tube being made in the usual way by pressing a small block of tin in a die which forms the neck 6 and shoulder 22 and extrudes the metal into the sides with substantially a foil thickness and the plastic being thenmolded directly over the metal in a second mold before theinetal tube is removed from the mandrel. The metal in such case is advantageous coated with a lubricating agent which will prevent adherence of the plastic; or, one may make in this way a collapsible opening 8. Because these tubes are standard and made commercially in existing dies it is an advantage of this invention that they can be used without change. My invention is not, however, limited to such tubes, and, where new dies are to .be made,,my invention makes possible a' saving of metal by reduction of thickness in the delivery end of the tube.

. This metal tube is enclosed in a plastic tube ID of a plastic sufliciently resilient that, in the thickness used, it may be deformed sufficiently to collapse the inner tube without going beyond its elastic limit.

As herein shown, the plastic tube In is also preferably provided with a neck l2 threaded upon its exterior, as shown at I4, and preferably also threaded on its interior, as shown at I8, to fit the threads on the neck 6 of the collapsible tube 2. This permits convenient assembly of the tube combination, since the tube 2 may first be filled and clipped at its end as shown at 4. The tube'2 may then be inserted in the tube It and its neck 6 screwed into the inner threads l6 of the neck 12 of the outer tube It], thus connecting the two tubes together. If desired the neck 12 may be shrunk upon the neck 6 in any suitable manner. For example, the neck l2 may be made with its neck opening slightly smaller than the outside of neck 6. In such case the metal threads may be forced and turned into the plastic so as to form the thread, or the plastic neck 12 may be swollen with a volatile swelling agent or stretched mechanically and then shrunk on the metal neck 6. Thereafter the bottom end of the tube It, which preferably extends somewhat below the clipped end 4 of the tube 2, may itself be clipped as shown at I8 or, as shown in Figure 3, a bottom cap l9 may be secured in place by shrinking, cementing or heat sealing, vto efl'ect a complete closure of the tube ID.

A plastic or other suitable cap 20, internally threaded to fit over the outer threads [4 of the neck [2 of the outer tube 10, may serve as a closure, the neck 6 of the inner tube 2 preferably extending slightly above the neck l2 so that the cap efiects a tight closure of the opening 8 in the neck 6.

Taking the illustrative dimensions given above, a plastic covering tube l0, one-half inch longer than the clipped inner tube 2, that is, five and one-half inches long and one and five-eighths inches in inside diameter, would ordinarily permit clipping below the end of the inner tube 2 to effect a complete enclosure of the inner tube 2.

Although the method of making and connector rigid container in which the metal lining adheres to theplastic, and thus after each use re turns to or retains its smooth attractive form with its label smoothly and clearly displayed.

In Figures 4 and 5 is illustrated another method, and. an apparatusffor making a combination tube of the present invention, The inner metal tube may be made in a conventional manner, e. g., av mandrel or plunger 25 may be pressed onto a measured billet of block tin or other suitable, metal in a mold composed of a sleeve 26 and a base 21. The sleeve 26 is of inner form corresponding tobut slightly larger than the exterior of the mandrel, so that the metal forced between them makes the thin wall of the collapsible tube- At its upper end the mandrel 25 fits tightly to the sleeve 26 and at its bottom, end the sleeve fits tightly to the base 21.

During the forming of the metal tube 2 these die parts are held tightly pressedntogether so that the extrusion of the metal is confined to the cavity between the mandrel 25 and sleeve and block 26-21. If, however, some flash is formed by extrusion between the bottom of sleeve 26 and its seat on block 21, it will be unobjectionable; and the mold may even be designedintentionally to produce such extrusion so as to provide a metal backing for the shoulder of the plastic tube.

After the metal .tube 2' is formed the sleeve 26 and mandrel 25 with the tube2 between them are removed from the base 21 and inserted into the plastic mold 30 which fits the exterior of the assembly at its upper edge 3|, and is held suitably spaced therefrom. over the rest of the exterior, e. g., by projection 32. A suitable plastic is then injected through the opening 33 in a manner well understood in the art of injection molding; after which the mold 30, sleeve 26 and mandrel 25 are removed, leaving the combined metal and resilient plastic tube substantially as shown in Figure 1.

This method of dual molding on a common mandrel is of advantage even when other features of the invention are notused. Thus, where attractive appearance of molded plastics is sought for collapsible tubes, jars or other containers, but the material to be filled therein is such as would swell, soften or otherwise deteriorate the plastic, a foil lining may first be formed on a mandrel in the same manner as described above, and this lining and its mandrel be removed together from the metal forming die and fitted in to a plastic mold in which a plastic covering or body is formed, e. g., in the same manner as set forth above in connection with Figure 5 (except for the Omis on of sleeve 26 in this operation). Other methods of applying the metallining to the m'an- "(irel before molding pl-astic thereon may 'be used, but the method described has =important advanv Cl-his latter-method-may-also be used foranak- -ingspacedwall -tubes-such as that shown in Figure 1, if the plastic and metal-arersuch as do not adhere strongly or the metal is,coated with a material"to;prevent such adherence. After'mol'd- 'ing, themandrel 'with'bothtub'es thereon istransferred to a larger female mold and a hot liquid injected into the plastic tube expanding it against the mold. If the mandrel is of a low expansion material, e. g., Invar, the hot liquid will loosen the metal tube and facilitate removal from the mandrel.

Tubes for dispensing paste or other plastic substance which have the resilient recovery feature of the present invention require the metal and plastic tubes to be separable by a sufficient air space to accommodate the deformation of the inner metal tube 2 and for equalizing air pressure upon the inner surfaces of the elastic tube II! to permit its recovery to a smooth shape after being squeezed to collapse a part of the metal tube. Since each deformation decreases the cross-sectional area of the inner tube 2, it increases the free space between the tubes, and since it is usually advantageous to seal the tubes together at the neck I2, in order to prevent leakage of the contents of the inner tube into the space between the two tubes, an air vent or bleed hole 23', may be provided in the wall of the outer tube ll! at a point remote from the opening 8.

Although my invention is not limited to use of any particular materials, I prefer to use opaque or at most semi-transparent plastic materials, so that the smooth, neat appearance of the plastic tube after recovery hides the unsightly appearance of the collapsed metal tube. The labels, instructions, decoration, etc., may be of course printed or molded on the plastic tube and it is an important advantage of this invention that such printed matter and decorations remain clear and prominent as ng as the container is used.

Although there is advantage in the methods of forming the metal and plastic tubes as described it should be understood that my invention may be carried out in other ways and with other methods of forming a thin impervious metal tube and a plastic tube or jar, etc.

The invention makes possible important economies in the metal, since the plastic affords mechanical strength and withstands the mechanical abuse, so that the metal need be of thinner foil dimensions than could have been used before. This is particularly important with the present scarcity of tin.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the invention provides a novel container, comprising a collapsible tube, which completely overcomes and avoids the unsightly appearance of the ordinary partially collapsed collapsible tube, especially on dressing tables, without interfering with the efficient functioning of the collapsible tube to extrude its contents. Moreover, the protective elastic covering tube It] serves somewhat to prevent such irregular pressures on the collapsible tube 2 as sometimes cause cracks in the collapsible tube and partial loss of the contents thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a container adapted to be used in dispensing pastes, creams, ointments and the like, in combination, a collapsible tube for containing the material to be dispensed, said ccllapsible tube having sa neck provided with :a discharge Opening, and a resilient tube substantiallyaenclosing said collapsibletube and sealed-tosaidcollapsible tube at a point adjacent to'the neck thereof, said resilient tube having an unobstructed air-vent formed therein to provide 'for continuous equalization'of air pressure between the interior-and exterior thereof ,--said "resilient tube being spaced from said collapsible tube to accommodate and mask deformations of the collapsible "tubeand being deformable within its elastic limit to effect collapse of said collapsible tube, the ends of both said collapsible and resilient tubes remote from said neck being flattened to insure complete collapsibility of said collapsible tube and thereby insure complete utilization of the material contained in said collapsible tubes.

2. In a container adapted to be used in dispensing pastes, creams, ointments and the like, in combination, a collapsible tube for containing the material to be dispensed, said collapsible tube having a threaded neck provided with a discharge opening, a resilient tube formed of a synthetic, organic plastic substantially enclosing said collapsible tube and secured thereto adjacent to said neck, the neck of said collapsible tube extending outwardly beyond the adjacent portion of said resilient tube and being formed to receive a cap adapted to close said discharge opening, said resilient tube having an unobstructed air vent formed therein to provide for continuous equalization of air pressure between the interior and exterior thereof, said resilient tube being spaced from said collapsible tube so as to accommodate and mask deformation of the collapsible tube and being deformable within its elastic limit to effect collapse of said collapsible tube, and a cap threaded onto the exterior of said resilient tube neck, the end of said collapsible tube neck extending beyond said resilient tube neck whereby the interior of said cap engages the end of said collapsible tube neck to close said discharge.

opening.

3. In a container adapted to be used in dispensing pastes, creams, ointments and the like, in combination, a collapsible tube for containing the material to be dispensed, said collapsible tube having a threaded neck provided with a discharge opening, a resilient tube formed of a semi-transparent, synthetic, organic plastic substantially enclosing said collapsible tube, said resilient tube having a neck that is externally threaded and also internally threaded to receive the threaded neck of said collapsible tube, said resilient tube having formed therein at a point remote from its neck an unobstructed air vent permitting continuous equalization of air pressure between the interior and exterior thereof, said resilient tube bein spaced from said collapsible tube to accommodate and mask deformation of the collapsible tube and being deformable within its elastic limit to effect collapse of said collapsible tube, the ends of both said collapsible tube and said resilient tube remote from said neck being flattened to insure complete collapsibility of said collapsible tube, and a cap threaded onto the exterior of said resilient tube neck, the end of said collapsible tube neck extending beyond the end of said resilient tube neck whereby the interior of said cap engages the end of said collapsible tube to close said discharge opening.

GEORGE E. FULLER.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED Number The following references are of record in the 1828154 file of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 2:084:273 Number Name Date 2,262,612 825,448 Farron July 10, 1906 1 863,260 Butterfield Aug. 13, 1907 1,698,404 Hopkins Jan. 8, 1929 Number 1,760,945 Grigsby June 3, 1930 10 (146,146

Lefkowitz July 1, 1930 Name Date Siqveland Oct. 20, 1931 Johnston Aug. 2, 1932 Blount July 16,1935 Beach June 15, 1937 Kopitke Nov. 11, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France June 16, 1931 

